25° RETROGRADE Sect. XXIX. 4. 9, 



lifhed. Another indication of cure, requires fuch medicines, as by 

 lining the inteftines with mucilaginous fubfiances, or with fuch as 

 confiit of fmcoth particles, or which chemically deitroy the acri- 

 mony of their contents, may prevent the too great aclion of the 

 inteflinal abibrbents. For this purpofe, I have found the earth 

 precipitated from a folution of alum, by means of fixed alcali, given 

 in the dofe of half a dram every fix hews, of great advantage, 

 v. ith a few grains of rhubarb, fo as to produce a daily evacuation* 

 The food mould confifl; of materials that have the lead ftim- 

 ulus, with calcareous water, as of Briftol and Matlock ; that the 

 mouths of the la£teals may be as little ilimulated as is necerfary 

 for their proper abforption \ left with their greater exertions, 

 ihould be connected by fympathy, the inverted motions of the 

 urinary lymphatics. 



The fame method may be employed with equal advantage in 

 the aqueous diabetes, fo great is the fympathy between the ikus 

 and the ftomach. To which, however, tome application to the 

 fldn might be ufefully added ; as rubbing the patient all over 

 with oil, to prevent the too great aclion of the cutaneous abforb- 

 ents. I knew an experiment of this kind made upon one pa- 

 tient with apparent advantage. 



The mucilaginous diabetes will require the fame treatment, 

 which is moft efTicacious in the dropfy, and will be defcribed be- 

 low. I mud add, that the diet and medicines above mentioned, 

 are ftrcngiy recommended by various authors, as by Morgan, j 

 Willis, Harris, and Etmuller ; but more hiflories of the fucceisful 

 treatment of thefe difeafes are wanting to fully afcertain the moll 

 efficacious methods of cure. 



In a letter from Mr. Charles Darwin, dated April 24, 1778, 

 Edinburgh, is the fubfequent paiTage : — " A man who had long 

 laboured under a diabetes died yeiterday in the clinical ward. 

 He had for fome time drunk four, and palled twelve pounds of 

 fluid daily : each pound of urine contained an ounce of fugar. 

 He took, without eonfiderable relief, gum kino, fanguis draconis 

 melted with alum, tincture of cantharide , '..inglafs, gum arabic, 

 crab's eyes, Spirit of hartfhorn, and eat ten or fifteen oyfters 

 thrice a day. Dr. Home, having read my theiis, bled Lim, and 

 ud that neither the frefli blood nor t\\Q ferum tailed [w^^t. 

 was opened this morning — every vifcus appeared in a 

 found and natural ft ate, except that the left kidney had a very 

 fmall pelvis, and that there was a confiderable enlargement of 

 mod of the mefenteric lymphatic glands. I intend to infert this 

 in my thefis, as it coincides with the experiment, where fc 



jragus was eaten at the beginning of intoxication, and its 

 fmcll perceived in the urine, though not in the blood." 



The 



